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Henshaw has become more crucial than first thought. Ringrose is a liability how he's defending lately, and Farrell played himself off the plane. Hard to tell how effective he can be with so little rugby though, but will be interesting to see if he's leaned up a bit after the pre season.

We're taking a lot of big name players on the plane who have shown themselves unable in the last 2 years to put any few games together without breaking down.

The backrows still the biggest call. Conan did nothing to shift CJ, but hopefully a fresher CJ can show a return to form. The balance yesterday looked better though, without any big performance. Questionable if POM and VDF should be together, or if Conan, CJ and POM/VDF would be better. Lack of form of all these is the big worry and we need big games from whoever starts next week.

We can't face a top tier nation with both of Toner/Best on the field, but expect both to start next week.

"There are probably more annoying things than being hectored about African development by a wealthy Irish rock star in a cowboy hat, but I can't think of one at the moment"

Comment

This Conway to 15 stuff I find quare, he'd want to take the jersey of MickHaley here before shivving Bobert in green, surely?

It’s about being given the chance to do so. He’s a better 15 than Mike but Munster prefer to play both in the back three than choose between them. Wouldn’t be surprised to see that change under Larkham, who knows am attacking threat from FB when he sees one. (That break and scoring pass yesterday was something we could see more of from the back field.)

I don’t think there’s any chance we’ll see him there for Ireland this RWC though.

Comment

Yes - if Henshaw stays injured, he'll get a free ride in the squad without showing his stuff. He is a solid, but also rather stolid, performer who is reliable but has not done much of note for some time and does lack a bit of gas for top level rugby. It's hard to see Joe leaving him out.

Comment

This Conway to 15 stuff I find quare, he'd want to take the jersey of MickHaley here before shivving Bobert in green, surely?

Mike Haley mentioned in an Ireland interview a few weeks ago that he can play on the wing. He certainly scored a few tries in/near that corner for us last season. Would have loved to have seen him and AC swapped around last season.

Having said that, my wish to see AC play #15 for Ireland and Munster was partly based on a feeling that he wasn't selfish enough and didn't get involved enough from the wing - especially as moves tend to flow to the left wing (Stockdale and Earls respectively). He is such a disciplined team player, holding the width, and maybe he was (unjustifiably) slow to build self-confidence moving into green. His under-involvement was apparent in the Autumn International in which Larmour scored a hatrick (I think). In the next match AC seemed to have been give the message to get involved more and did so. Plus the moves seem to involve him more, coming into the #12 channel or inside the #10.

So assuming we have a decent #15, maybe it's not so important to get AC into the #15 shirt. Let's hope so because it's not going to happen in green anyway !

Comment

Mike Haley mentioned in an Ireland interview a few weeks ago that he can play on the wing. He certainly scored a few tries in/near that corner for us last season. Would have loved to have seen him and AC swapped around last season.

Having said that, my wish to see AC play #15 for Ireland and Munster was partly based on a feeling that he wasn't selfish enough and didn't get involved enough from the wing - especially as moves tend to flow to the left wing (Stockdale and Earls respectively). He is such a disciplined team player, holding the width, and maybe he was (unjustifiably) slow to build self-confidence moving into green. His under-involvement was apparent in the Autumn International in which Larmour scored a hatrick (I think). In the next match AC seemed to have been give the message to get involved more and did so. Plus the moves seem to involve him more, coming into the #12 channel or inside the #10.

So assuming we have a decent #15, maybe it's not so important to get AC into the #15 shirt. Let's hope so because it's not going to happen in green anyway !

This is the cruncher. Who is the decent 15? Any time Conway has had a run at 15 for Munster or Ireland (he filled in at 15 when Addison was off the pitch on Sat) he has looked just as good or better than the man he is replacing. I don't think there is a better all round FB in Ireland. At the Munster level Haley is not in the same class and looks nothimg special at all. Don't know how he made Joe's training squad. Even Ulster's tiny Lowry is a better player.

Erse end of nowhere

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Comment

Conway is the best full back in Ireland, for me. Munster play him on the wing because they calculate that having him, Earls and Haley on the pitch at the same time is the best overall back three. I don't see it myself - would hope that one of our wing options can force themselves back in this season.

Sweetnam/Wootton and Earls with Conway at FB should be a more potent combination imo.

"We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven into an age of unreason if we dig deep into our history and remember we are not descended from fearful men" Edward R Murrow

"Little by little, we have been brought into the present condition in which we are able neither to tolerate the evils from which we suffer, nor the remedies we need to cure them." - Livy

"I think that progress has been made by two flames that have always been burning in the human heart. The flame of anger against injustice and the flame of hope that you can build a better world" - Tony Benn

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Comment

Conway is the best full back in Ireland, for me. Munster play him on the wing because they calculate that having him, Earls and Haley on the pitch at the same time is the best overall back three. I don't see it myself - would hope that one of our wing options can force themselves back in this season.

Sweetnam/Wootton and Earls with Conway at FB should be a more potent combination imo.

Sweetnam is the man most likely to change the situation IMHO. He has a big opportunity to nail down his place on the wing while Earls, and hopefully Conway, are away. He needs to make himself very difficult to drop when those two return.

Comment

Sweetnam is the man most likely to change the situation IMHO. He has a big opportunity to nail down his place on the wing while Earls, and hopefully Conway, are away. He needs to make himself very difficult to drop when those two return.

It will be interesting to see what changes with Larkham in situ. Sweets' fielding ability is very strong and he's an effective carrier, but I don't think he's the out and out running threat that Wootton is.

I've real hopes that we'll see a step forward for the likes of Scannell and Goggin that will see our back three much better supplied with attacking ball than the last couple of years. I guess it's only then that we'll see who's got the growth in them.

"We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven into an age of unreason if we dig deep into our history and remember we are not descended from fearful men" Edward R Murrow

"Little by little, we have been brought into the present condition in which we are able neither to tolerate the evils from which we suffer, nor the remedies we need to cure them." - Livy

"I think that progress has been made by two flames that have always been burning in the human heart. The flame of anger against injustice and the flame of hope that you can build a better world" - Tony Benn

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